Taking a Stand
by Rosie2009
Summary: When Audrey's grandmother starts criticizing her boyfriend and her choices, Audrey takes a stand. Jay is impressed. Jaudrey feels.


Audrey snuggled closer against Jay's chest as she watched the people walk by, contentedly sighing at the feel of his arm wrapping around her waist. He pulled her nearer to him, and she gladly obliged.

Audrey had dragged- ahem, taken Jay to the mall with her while she bought some things for her upcoming party. She wanted the company and the strong arms to help her carry the things that she was purchasing, so she got her wonderful boyfriend to come with her.

After a while, though he had protested and insisted that they sat down. Of course, they hadn't bought anything yet. They were only halfway through the mall, and the things she needed were on the other side. But she couldn't resist that look of his, and she knew he just wanted an excuse to have her close to him, so she complied and let him drag her over to a bench to relax.

"Have I told you lately that you're beautiful?" Jay whispered to her lowly, dipping his head down so that his lips barely grazed her ear.

"Maybe once or twice. But it never hurts to hear it again," Audrey teased, turning her head slightly so that her lips grazed the corner of his own.

"Well, I have to tell you often because it's so true," Jay chuckled, moving so that his lips were barely against hers as he spoke. Audrey giggled breathlessly, enjoying the sensation of his warm lips against her own.

"You're a shameless flirt, you know that?" Audrey grinned, pushing her nose against his playfully as she looked into his eyes. She knew that she was just as bad as he was or worse, but she couldn't resist poking fun at him about it.

"And you're a foxy tease," he grinned wolfishly, pressing his lips to hers gently. Her stomach fluttered pleasantly as she placed her hand on his chest and tightly clung to the fabric covering it.

Just as she started to really get into it, and his hands started wandering around her sides, there were the sounds of stomping footsteps approaching at a high speed.

"Audrey Roselia Camilla of Auroria! What in the name of the Blue Fairy are you doing?!" a familiar voice suddenly screeched, and Audrey immediately jumped away from her handsome boyfriend out of complete fear as well as force of habitual obedience.

It was her grandmother, and if her wide eyes and completely scandalized expression were anything to go by, Audrey was likely in an enormous pile of trouble.

Her heart positively raced with terror and insecurity as the woman grew increasingly nearer to the couple. She glanced at Jay in her panic and noted his slightly confused expression. This was not at all how she had envisioned her boyfriend formally meeting her grandmother for the first time. And kissing Jay in public most certainly was not how she was planning to break the news to her grandmother.

They had been careless to be so close in such a populated public area. It was just that Audrey couldn't find it in herself to care quite as much anymore what the other students and townspeople thought of her. Of course, she made sure to look a little less noteworthy and she tried to wear more blue-jean jackets and other accessories that didn't just scream princess.

But she certainly cared about what her grandmother thought, and her grandmother could most assuredly easily recognize her.

Audrey immediately arose to meet Leah to hopefully lighten some of the damage that had surely been inflicted by her noncompliance with the old woman's orders.

"Grammy, please allow me to explain myself," Audrey began, keeping that respectful, cordial tone of voice that was always expected of her when she was addressing her elders.

"What is there to explain?! What I saw was you," Queen Leah paused in her immense anger, trying to collect herself but miserably failing, "canoodling with this villainous hoodlum!" Audrey winced a bit, overall trying to keep her composure despite knowing that her grandmother was absolutely livid with her.

"Grammy, he's… he's my boyfriend," Audrey told her, keeping her voice calm and quiet despite the fact that she was scared out of her mind about what could happen and that she felt terrible for disappointing Grammy.

If Leah was livid before, she was positively fuming with steam coming out of her ears by now.

"This Villain Kid is not worthy of you or your time! Haven't you listened to anything I have taught you? My child, I have practically raised you and you repay me with this horrible, terrible act of treason?! The plan was for you to move back into Ben's life and win. Him. Back," Leah accentuated, wagging her finger with each word as an almost inhuman blaze lit up in her eyes.

Audrey risked a glance at Jay, scared of how he was taking this conversation. She was especially worried after her grandmother's last comment.

Jay's brow was furrowed as he studied them from the bench. She could see the doubt, the concern, and the anger rolling inside of him as he thought deeply. Audrey desperately hoped he wasn't considering calling it quits between them.

"Mother said that I should follow the path that makes me happy," Audrey humbly informed her, keeping her head bowed and her eyes on the ground.

"And that thing is going to make you happy? Do you sincerely believe that? When he has finished his fun, he will leave you in the blink of an eye. Dear, I am just trying to do what's best for you," the old woman attempted to sow doubts. To Audrey's frustration and sudden sadness, she realized it was working much better than the pink princess had anticipated.

What if Jay really was like almost every other guy she had dated besides Ben? She knew she was starting to fall in love with him, but she wasn't entirely sure if the opposite was true. They were a rather new couple and had only been together for four months. Four _heavenly_ months that Audrey was so lucky to have gotten.

Jay had been nothing but kind, gentle, and loving to her, and never pushed her to do anything that she shouldn't. Sure, he was a flirt, as she had said earlier, and his hands wandered where they shouldn't sometimes, but he never made her do anything that she didn't want to do.

The only time that he had ever forced her to do anything was when he first kissed her in the hallway. But even then, Audrey guessed that she had wanted it, and she just didn't know it yet because she was so stuck on being a perfect princess.

And who was her grandmother to tell her what she wanted and how she felt? Sure, the woman had raised her, but it was Audrey's life to live. She didn't care what status dictated, or what was proper. She loved Jay and that was all that concerned her.

Suddenly, Audrey felt all of the anger and frustration that had been unknowingly stewing beneath the surface manifesting itself in one hugely angry outburst. She was sick of her grandmother trying to control every aspect of her life.

"Jay is not like that, Grammy!" Audrey protested firmly, raising her voice slightly, and she was almost surprised at herself as she viciously lashed out. It shocked her, but boy, did it feel great.

Queen Leah was certainly surprised, that was for sure. Audrey didn't even turn to look at Jay but she hoped that he was okay with what she was doing.

"You are not allowed to speak to your grandmother in that manner. If you do not behave this instant, I will be forced to-"

"What? Tell my mom? Go for it! At least she'd _want_ me to be happy," Audrey told her, only slightly uncertain of her bold statement. She was mostly sure her mother would be on her side. Aurora always did seem a little less conventional than her mother, despite that Audrey didn't know her own mother that well.

Her grandmother's eyes suddenly hardened in a foreign emotion, and she took Audrey's arm firmly, pulling her away from Jay and starting to leave the mall.

"What are you doing?!" Audrey demanded, looking back at Jay who had suddenly swiftly stood up and began making his way over to her. He looked a little confused, but there was an expression of pure determination on his face as he drew nearer.

"You are coming home now!" Queen Leah informed her, just before Jay snatched Audrey out of Leah's grasp. Audrey gasped as he suddenly kissed her hard, right in front of her grandmother and right in front of everyone that she knew had to be staring at this point.

And as she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as if he was her lifeline, she couldn't care less about any of their thoughts.

Well… Until Grammy yanked her away from him.

"Scandalous, disgusting boy!" Queen Leah fussed as she dragged Audrey away. Despite the obvious circumstances, Audrey couldn't help but grin widely as she looked back at her boyfriend. Jay smiled at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he locked his eyes with hers.

It would be alright.

…

Audrey brushed through her hair softly, going over the events of the day in her mind. She wished things had turned out differently, but ultimately, she didn't regret a second of it. Her grandmother deserved to know that she wasn't afraid of what she thought.

She brushed a little more furiously through the ends of her hair as she grew increasingly angrier over her grandmother's actions.

Leah had no right to disrespect Jay in any such of a way as that right in front of him. Regardless of his character- Audrey knew he had a heart of gold- Leah shouldn't have treated any person much less Jay like that.

Once she realized she was just running her brush through already straightened brunette locks, Audrey laid down her brush and started to get out her makeup-removing kit.

Just as she was about to begin wiping away her lipstick, there was a sudden knock at Audrey's window. She jumped in alarm and swiftly stood up, snagging her hairbrush as if it would protect her from whatever was outside. There was another knock, and she hesitantly approached, holding out the brush from her as she carefully edged forward.

A face suddenly popped up in the window and she jumped backward fearfully, barely restraining her scream.

"You think you could open the window?" a familiar voice questioned, but it was muffled by the thick glass between them.

She quickly realized it was Jay, and she pulled the window open with a hard tug.

"What are you doing here?" Audrey whispered furiously, looking around to make sure that no one would see him there.

"Just dropped by to see the view," he flirted with her and raised an eyebrow. Jay rested his arms on the windowsill and grinned widely as he unashamedly looked her up and down.

Audrey immediately felt more than a little insecure and embarrassed as she realized that she was standing there before him clad only in her not-yet-removed makeup and her thin nightgown that was currently billowing in the wind. However, as he seemed to not be able to get enough of looking at her, she felt her confidence boost a little higher.

Audrey finally rolled her eyes once she had regained her composure and she leaned over, trying to see what he was standing on.

"Oh, I'm balanced on a tree branch. Don't worry, I think it's growing almost into this building, so it's sturdy," Jay reassured her just as she was about to say something. Audrey sat down on the cushions along the edge of the bay window and she leaned down so she was eye-level with him.

"So what are you really doing here? This is about ten miles from Auradon Prep, and that's far if you don't own a car," Audrey told him. He started to look a little sheepish and he avoided her gaze.

"Well, I kind of took one of Ben's limos and I drove here just because I wanted to see you again after earlier," Jay explained, keeping his voice low as he spoke to her. Audrey raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side in thought and smirking.

"I wonder why you'd want that. If I had my way, I would've drove over to see you after earlier," Audrey put special emphasis on earlier, so he'd know which part she was talking about.

He caught on in a flash, and he brushed her hair away from her face with a hand.

"You liked my stunt, foxy? I just couldn't resist after that," he paused, moving in toward her a bit as he glanced at her lips, "_moving_ speech."

"Jay, it was two sentences," Audrey told him, but she couldn't resist edging herself a little closer to him.

"Maybe so, but you know I'm a man of little words." She felt his hand slip around to the back of her neck and pulled her into his lips. Audrey's hands slid over his shoulders and she kneaded the muscles of his back with her fingers, reveling in the chiseled and firm feel of them.

They parted ever so slightly so that their lips were barely touching and with every breath their skin grazed against one another.

"You're a man of little words because you're so busy 'canoodling' with me," Audrey teased, making good use of her grandmother's specific description of her relations with Jay. He just grinned at her, moving back to look at her.

"Never heard a complaint about it," Jay shot back in response.

"Except from Grammy," Audrey added with a wide grin. Jay shook his head, chuckling.

"Yeah. Except from Grammy," Jay echoed, and Audrey glanced away for a moment in hopes of calming her racing heart.

Something was just so romantic about the entire scene they had set up at that moment. Her handsome bad boy coming to see her at her window. It was completely against the rules, but that was part of the romance that came with it. She was glad she had picked this particular nightgown and didn't remove her makeup. It made for a perfect princess and thief forbidden love story theme.

"How did that all go down?" Jay asked her suddenly, and she met his eyes once more.

"Oh, she just deemed me grounded until my parents get back from wherever they decided to vacation to now and they decide my punishment," Audrey explained nonchalantly, completely unconcerned about the entire situation.

"Uh… Don't you think you should be a little more worried? Your parents are getting involved."

"Jay, my mother will help me out. She was raised by what she believed to be three old ladies and she was raised humbly at that. She didn't even know she was a princess for almost all of her early life," Audrey shrugged.

"And besides, if that doesn't work, I'll just exercise my pouty lip and use her own words against her, and she'll be wrapped around my finger," Audrey wickedly told him, a little shocked at herself but simultaneously pleased with her wiles.

"You sure you're not a VK? Because that's pretty dastardly, Princess Audrey Roselia Camilla of Auroria," Jay tried out, speaking the name slowly in order to make sure he didn't mess it up. Audrey hid her face in her hands, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the fact he had remembered what her grandmother had said.

"You remembered that, I see," Audrey pointed out, completely mortified. However, she soon felt him moving her hands away from her face and tilting her head up with a hand under her chin.

"I think it's a beautiful name for an equally beautiful girl," Jay told her sincerely with a soft smile on his face. "A beautiful girl that is and always will be mine unless she says otherwise," Jay tenderly spoke, stroking her chin with his thumb as he spoke. Audrey felt her heart swell with that emotion that was so foreign but so familiar as she grinned at him contentedly.

"I wish Grammy, Mom, and Dad could see this side of you- the person I see," Audrey longingly expressed as she dipped her head to kiss his palm gently.

"I think they will one day," Jay reassured her, and she leaned in for another kiss.

Nothing and nobody would tear them apart.


End file.
